Picnic cabinet



April ,20 1926.

J. P. HART PICNIC CABINET Filed Nov. 6. 1 2B 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNE' m m m m April 20,1926. C 1,581,343 .ZJ. P. HART PICNIC CABINET Fi ed Nov, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 20 ,1926, 1,581,343

J. P. HART.

PICNIC CABINET Filed Nov. e. 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 April 20 1926.

J. P.,HART PICNIC CTA'IBINET F iled Nov. 6. 1923 J. P. HART PICNIC-CABINET April 20 Filed Nov. 6. 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 u l i e O z o *3 /Z V 9 w w a 3 5 0 IN V EN TOR I a q Q i Patented Apr. 20, 1926.

JOHN ronrnn HART, or nos ANGEVLES', CALIFORNIA.

PICNIC oABINE r.

Application filed November 6, 1923. Serial No. G73 ,156 -.f-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN PORTER HART, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Picnic Cabinets, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to picnic cabinets of the general character and for the purpose shown and described in a patent granted to 1 me on December 5,1922, Number 1,437 ,7 56, and the object of the present invention is .to provide an improved cabinet arranged'with shelves and compartments therein, and having foldable sides and ends adapted-to be lowered into the samehorizontal plane for forming a rectangular table around the cabinet, and a collapsible and foldable set of legs or standards adapted to be housed below the bottom of said cabinet when the cabinet is not in use, and to be entirely enclosed and readily extensible for use, at will.

Another object is to provide a cabinet having a false bottom spaced from the main bottom thereof and attached thereto, pro vidinga space for the nesting of the supporting standards when the cabinet is not in use, and means whereby the standards may be withdrawn, extended and supported for holding the cabinet above the ground in position for use.

Another object is to provide a cabinet having a main compartment for the reception of articles of food, utensils,'dishes, etc., with sides and ends foldably attached thereto for extension into horizontal planes, a shal-- low compartment below said main compartment having foldable sides and ends and foldable standards adapted to be extended therefromlfor supporting the cabinet for use, and nested in said shallow compartment when the cabinet is collapsed and in compact form.

Still other minor and detailed objects may appear as description progresses. I

I have illustrated one practical embodiment of my invention in the accompanying drawings, subject to modification within the scope of the appended claims, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the cabinet, with the ends and sides partially open and the standards nested in the compartment below the cabinet. Fig.2 is a perspective view of the cabinet with the main compartment thereof closed and the standard receiving compartment-' open, and legs partially extended for use.

in closed position.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of closed position, and

Fig. 3 is a top plan view ofthe cabinet the same in Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the same in I closed position.

Fig. 61s a side elevation ofthe cabinet open at one side and with the legsextended.

same position. A

Fig.2 is an open side elevation of the opposlte side thereof.

Fig. 9 is a plan view with the sides and end members extended for forming a rec-' tangular table around the cabinet.

Fig. 10 is a plan View of the shallow compartment below. thecabinet for holding the legs in position.

Fi 11 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation of a portion of the cabinet, showing the details of the supporting structure.

F ig; 12 is a fragmentary view of the supporting standards showingthe connection be tween the members thereof. I Fig. 13 is a section on line 13-13 of Fig. 11.

Fig. 14 is an enlarged detailed view of the bottom of the cabinet on the ground, on line 1414 of Fig. 13.

Now, as shown particularly in Figs. 1,

6,7, 8 and 9, my improved cabinet is of rectangular form and has a top 1 with a handle 2 attached thereto, a bottom 3, and a plurality of compartments formed between said top and bottom, of desirable form, area, and capacity, adapted to be separated by a plurality of vertical and horizontal p'a rtivtions, as at 4, 4.

As shown, the cabinet may include a main compartment C arranged for the reception of large articles of food, as at F,.and closed at its outer side by means of hinged extensible shelves 5, 5. Belowgthe compartment C I may provide shallower compart" ments G7, C, open at the opposite sides of the cabinet for the reception of utensilsand dishes U, U, etc. The ends of the cabinet may have vertically elongated compartments as at 6 for the reception of receptacles R,

such as bottles or they like, and the ends also may be providedwithshallower compartments 7, 7, fetc., for the reception of knives, forks and spoons and the like, as lndicated.

Fig. 7 is an end elevation thereof in they,

The sides .of the cabinet are closed by" means of side members 8, 8, hinged to the bottom 3 by means of hinges 9, 9, etc., so that the upper sides of said members will be substantially flush with the bottom 3 when extended for use. Likewise, the ends of the cabinet are closed by means of end members 10, 10, hinged to the bottom 3 by means of hinges 11, 11, arranged so that when extended said end members will be flush with the side members 8, 8.

Now, the side members 8, 8, are rabbeted at 12, 12, etc., and to each of said members I attach a pair of extension leaves 13, 13, by means of hinges 14, 14, etc., the inner edges of the leaves 13 being hinged to the members 8, 8, at the innermost extremities of said rabbeted portions, so that when the members 13, 13, are folded back over the members 8, 8, one of the members 13 will rest upon the inner surface of the members 8, and the other member 13 will rest thereupon in overlapping position. When the members 13, 13 are extended outwardly into horizontal position and to the same horizontal plane of the members 8, 8, and 10, 10, the members 13, 13 will rest upon and be supported by the extended rabbeted portions of members 8, 8. Members 8, 8, and 10,10, may be additionally supported by means of chains 15, 15, etc., if desired.

Thus, it will be seen that when the members 8, 8, 10, 10, 13, 13, etc., are fully extended into horizontal position as shown in Fig. 9, all of said members together will constitute a rectangular table surrounding the main cabinet of the structure and all of the compartments of said cabinet when the shelves 5, 5, are open will be open for access to the users of the table. 7

Now, substantially spaced from the bottom 3 of the cabinet I provide a false, detachable bottom member 16, to which is pivoted at the sides narrow side members 17, 17, by means of hinges 18, 18, etc., and to the ends thereof is pivoted correspondingly narrow end mem bers 19, 19, by means of hinges such as shown at 18, for enclosing the shallow space or compartment 20 formed between the bottom members 3 and 16. The members 17, 17, and 19, 19 have one or more spring clips 21, 21, etc., attached thereto intermediate their ends, each of which is provided with a perforation 22, as shown in Fig. 1, adapted to register with and hook over an outwardly extended pin 23 attached to the side mem bers 8, 8, and the end members 10, 10, at a point above the lowermost edges, so that when the side members 17, 17, and 19, 19 are closed or upwardly extended, as shown, they may be held in closed position, and when the members 8 are opened the sides 17 will be forced outwardly as shown in Fig. 13, so as to prevent interference between adjacent edges of members 8 and .17.

Now, the bottom member 16 is permanently held in spaced relation on the member 3 by means of bolts 23, 23, etc., which extend through the member 3 and the member 16, and have rubber tips 24 on the outer end thereof, in which are embedded one or more nuts 25. Said bolts have sleeves 26 held thereon between end heads and the said nuts, as shown in Fig. 13, and short arms A, A, etc., are pivotally held on said sleeves and are slightly spaced from the bottom members 16 by means of washers 27, and are likewise spaced from the member 3 by means of metal arms a, a, etc.

The pair of bolts 23, 23, at each of the opposite ends of the cabinet are staggered at one of the ends of the cabinet, and staggered with the pair of bolts at the other end for purposes hereinafter described, and the arms A, A, are adapted to be swung outwardly about the axis of the bolts 23 at angles, as shown in Fig. 9, while the arms a, a, are adapted to be swung outwardly at right angles in the sides of the cabinet beneath and for supporting the members 8, 8.

The outer ends of the arms A, A, etc., have leg members L, L, etc., attached thereto by means of straps 28, 28, and said legs are hinged to said arms on screws or pins 29, 29, etc., connecting said straps with the outer ends of the arms, so that the legs will have a range of movement relative to said arms from the horizontal positions shown in broken lines, to the positions shown in full lines in Fig. 11. The legs L, L, etc., are rabbeted on their upper surfaces as at 30 to receive the short arms a, a, etc., when the structure is collapsed within the compartment 20 of the cabinet, and said legs are held in supporting position on the cabinet by means of elongated wire spring members 31, 31, etc., which are pivotedat 32, 32, etc., to the inner ends of the arms A, A, and are offset at 32, 32, etc., providing shoulders 33, 33, etc., as shown in Fig. 11.

The ends 32, 32, etc., of said springs slidably engage eye screws 34, 34, etc., so as to hold the legs L,-L, etc., horizontally alined with the arms A, A, etc., and also to hold said legs at an angle relative to said arms A, A, as shown in Fig. 11 in full lines, when the shoulders 33, 33, etc., of the springs 31, 31, etc., bear against the eye screws 34. WVhen the legs L- are extended and the springs 31 are similarly extended downwardly, the inner portions of said springs bear against pins 35 extended from one of the sides of the arms A.

Now, the legs L have extensions L which are pivoted to the members L by means of links 36 by means of pins 38, 38, and the outer ends of members L carry slidable sleeves 39 which are adapted to telescope the adjacent ends of members L. The ends of members Land L are recessed to receive the ends of links 36 and pins 37 are prothey may be readily 11 and 12,'that the leg extensions L fold backwardly over and against the members L, and both of said members are swung upwardly into the horizontal position of and in alinement with the members A. This is clearly shown in Fig. 10.

Now, the position of the bolts 23 which pivotally hold the arms A and also hold the bottom members 3 and 16 in spaced relation, is such that the members L, L, and A when folded together in units as shown in Fig. 10, will nest conveniently within the space 20 of the bottom in staggered relation. One of said leg units will be positioned when so nest-ed near one side of the cabinet, while another of'said leg units diagonally pivoted relative to said first unit will be positioned near the opposite side of the cabinet, and the other two units will be pivoted at opposite ends of the cabinet at points intermediate; the first mentioned units.

In order, therefore, that the leg units may be quickly extended for use, I have provided means attached to the outermost units when "folded, whereby the innermost units may be withdrawn from the space 20 so as to be accessible for extension. Such means m cludes a pair of spring leaves 40, 10, the

outermost endsof which are attached. to the arms A, A, of the outermost leg unit, as shown in Fig. 10, at points near the bolts 23. The innermost'ends 41, 11, of said spring members 40 are curved inwardly and are adapted to rest against the members L, L,

of the innermost leg units, so that when the exterior-surfaces of the cabinet will be flush outermost units are swung outwardly as shown, said innermost units may also be swung outwardly into such position that grasped by the hand for further extension. I

'Now, in operation and use the cabinet normally occupies but a very small amount of space, and is compact, as shown in'Figs. 3, 4 and 5, therefore it may readily be transported from place to place without inconvenience or discomfort, after-the fashion of a suitcase orsatchel. VVhen-it is desired to open the cabinet for providing an eating table and for afiording access to the interior of the cabinet, the members 17, 17 and 19, 19, are first opened and swung outwardly, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, for affording access to the compartment 20 which houses the supporting standards. Thereafter the leg units are withdrawn, one at a time, as indicated in Fig. 10, the arms A, A, being moved substantially into positions bisecting the angles of the corners-of the cabinet for affording a maximum spread for the legs, and thus affording greater rigidity for the cabinet. The members L are then swung outwardly and extended into alinement with the members L, and the members A, whereupon the cabinet is lifted from the ground or floor and the members L and L are swungdownwardly together into the position shown in full lines in Figs. 2. and 11, for supporting the weight of the cabinet and the springs 31 will serve to retain the leg members inthe positions stated.

The arms a, a, arevthen swung outwardly at right angles to the sides of the cabinet, and the side members 8, 8, are opened and folded downwardly so as to rest upon said arms as indicated in Fig. 9. Thereafter the leaves 13,13, carried by each of said side members are folded outwardly so as to rest on the rabbeted portions 12 of the'side members 8, and the end'member's, 10, 10 are likewise folded outwardly and downwardly so that all of the members 8, 8, 10, 10, and 13. 13, etc., will be held in the same horizontal plane for forming a complete rectangular table surrounding the cabinet. When the cabinet is to be .folded together, the operation is reversed. In such event, the members A, L and L, of each leg unit are folded together and thence inwardly into the 'com-, partment 20, and the side and end members for completely enclosing the "cabinet are closed and may be latched by suitable latches asat 45, 4:5, or otherwise. V.

'In the preferred form of. structure as, shown in the drawings and described herein, the top member 1 and bottom member 3 are arranged to overlie the upper edges of the side members 8 and end members 10 when the cabinet is in closed position, as shown in Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5, and likewise the members and continuous. I

, It will be observed by reference to Fig. 2 that the cabinet may be supported on the ground at one of two elevations, namely, at a low elevation with the legs folded, and at a higher elevation when the legs are ex tended.

What I claim is:

1., A picnic cabinet comprising a cabinet having hinged sides adapted to fold downwardly. into the same horizontal plane for providing a table, a compartment below the level of said table, side and end members enclosing said compartment and foldable outwardly for affording access thereto, and leg members pivotally supported in the corners of said compartment formed of sections hinged together, and adapted to be nested when collapsed in said compartment and extended therefrom'for supporting the cabinet in position for use.

2. A picnic cabinet as characterized in claim 31 and having said legs supported in staggered relation in said compartment, and arranged-in p airs, the outermost leg of each pair having a device attached to its inner end and engaging the outer end or" the other leg ot'the pair, whereby when said outer leg is extended the innerleg of the pair will be moved outwardly.

3. A picnic cabinet as characterized in claim 1 and having the innermost sections of each of the legs thereof pivoted on a vertical axis and adjustable in a horizontal plane, anintermediate section pivoted thereto on a 'horizontal axis and adjustable at an inclined plane relative to said innermost section, and an outer section adjustable relative to said intermediate section for supporting the cabinet at selected elevations.

4s. A picnic cabinet including a cabinet having side and end members toldable clownwardly into a horizontal'plane for providinga'table, sectional legs hingedly supported:below the'level of said table and toldable inwardly whencollapsed, said legs having horizontally disposed inner sections adapted to underlie and support certain of the table members, and arms also pivoted below the plane Off said table and independently adjustable for supporting said other of said table :members.

5. A picnic cabinet as characterized in claim lt and having the legs arranged to be folded-and nested beneathsaid cabinet when not in use, and downwardly toldable side and lend members for enclosing said leg when the cabinet'is collapsed.

6. A picnic cabinet including a cabinet having side and end members foldable downwardly into a horizontal plane for providing a table, sectional legs'hingedly supported below the level of said table and foldable inwardly when collapsed, said legs having horizontally disposed inner sections adapted to underlie and support certain of the table members,arms alsopivoted belowthe plane of said table and independently adjustable for supporting said other of said table members, and having toldable extensions'onthe legs torsupporting said cabinet at selected elevations, means connecting the inner and outer sections of said legs for holding the outer sections in supporting position, and having the legs arranged to be folded and nested beneath said cabinet when not in use, downwardly foldable side and end members for enclosing said legs when the cabinet is collapsed, and means connecting the side and end members of said cabinet, and the side and end members enclosing said @legs whereby when the members o'f's'ald cabmet are openedthe said other members Wlll also be opened.

,7. A picnic cabinet having side and and members hinged at the bottom of the cabinet and foldable outwardlyinto a common horr zontal plane, a compartment in the bottom 01' said cabinet, side and end membersenclosing said compartment and foldable outwardly, andmeans connecting the side and end members of the cabinet and the side and end members of the compartment whereby the members on the same side of the cabinet may be opened simultaneously.

8. A picnic cabinet-having side and end members :toldable outwardly and down wardly into a common horizontal plane for providing a table, overlapping flaps on said side members toldable outwardly and down wardly into the plane of said side and end members for vfilling the corner spaces therebetween, and providing a table surface of rectangular form, a compartment below the plane of said table, side and end members enclosing said compartment and foldable outwardly and downwardly for affording access to the-compartment, and means connecting the closures for said cabinets and said compartment on the respective sides and ends, whereby the cabinet closure and the corresponding compartment enclosure may be opened simultaneously.

9. A picnic cabinet having side and end members toldable outwardly and downwardly into a common horizontal plane for providing-ya table, overlapping flaps on said side members foldable outwardly and downwardly into the planeof said side and end members for filling the corner spaces therebetween, and providing a table surface of rectangular form, a compartment below the plane of said table, side and end members enclosing said compartment and foldable outwardly and downwardly for affording access to the compartment, means connecting the closures for said cabinets and said compartment on the respective sides and ends, whereby the cabinet closure and the corresponding compartment enclosure may be opened simultaneously,-andsa plurality of foldable legs normally collapsed and nested within said compartment and adapted to be extended outwardly therefrom and held in position for supporting said side and end members in position for use.

JOHN PORTER HART, 

